28 Days Later: Brutally Uncompromising

I think that 28 Days Later will remain the definitive zombie movie (and yes, they are zombies!). Why do I think this? Because only 28 Days Later, alone among the zombie movies of the last 40 years, is brutally uncompromising in its depiction of human agression and lack of compassion. It offers no hope for the future, no promise of a better world, and the redemption at the end, such as it is, seems but a temporary respite. Moreover, Jim and Selena, the leads, are characters that one can identify with, much more complex than the castoffs of the various zombie retreads of the last 30 years. 28 Days Later, to me, is a film that says life is hopeless, life is meaningless, and then asks you whether Jim's compassion for others is something still worth preserving, or a trait that will get him killed. Like the best British films, it is cynical about the human race in all the right ways, while never losing sight of the fact that we all belong to that race, for better or worse.

Even zombies.